Borrowing money to traffic drugs leads to a life sentence.

On April 24, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first-instance trial of defendants Dang Dinh Sy (born in 1961), residing in Hung Nguyen Nam commune, and Dang Trong Quang (born in 1983), residing in Quan Thanh commune (Nghe An province), on charges of illegally trading narcotics.

Both defendants have a bad criminal record, having served multiple prison sentences. Sy previously received a 17-year sentence, while Quang received a 14-year sentence, both for drug-related offenses.

Some time after his release from prison, in early May 2025, Sy went to Laos to meet Vu (a former cellmate) to inquire about buying drugs to resell for profit. Around the same time, Sy received a phone call from a man commonly known as "Dai" contacting him to order 3 sheets of methamphetamine.

Since he was in Laos, Sy connected "Dai" to Vu. Sy then learned that "Dai" would transfer 200 million dong to Vu to buy drugs. Once Vu had the drugs, he would ask Sy to deliver them to "Dai" for a fee of 10 to 20 million dong.

In mid-May 2025, Sy contacted Vu again to inquire about buying drugs, and also asked him to supply drugs to "Dai" as previously agreed. A few days later, Vu requested Sy to transfer the money in advance because drugs were scarce. Since Sy didn't have enough money, he asked Dang Trong Quang for a loan of 50 million dong.

A few days later, Quang repeatedly asked about the debt, but Sy said he didn't have the money yet. However, Sy said he would be going to get the "goods" soon and asked Quang if he wanted any drugs. Quang understood that his friend wanted to settle the debt, so he agreed to take 1.5 grams of heroin.

On June 3, 2025, Sy went to Son Kim commune, Huong Son district (formerly), Ha Tinh province to receive a backpack containing drugs delivered by Vu. That same evening, while en route, Sy was arrested by the police. Based on Sy's confession, the authorities arrested Quang.

In this case, Sy is criminally liable for the trafficking of over 2.8 kg of drugs, and Quang is criminally liable for the trafficking of over 52 grams of drugs.

Before the witness stand, the defendant Sy admitted to the crime. He stated that after being released from prison, he did not have a stable job, so he returned to his old ways by borrowing money to traffic drugs.

Meanwhile, defendant Quang initially denied the charges but later admitted to drug trafficking. He pleaded guilty and requested a reduced sentence.

After considering the role of each defendant in the case, the court sentenced Dang Dinh Sy to life imprisonment and Dang Trong Quang to 15 years and 6 months in prison.